Journalism of Courage
After keeping steady for more than three months, retail and wholesale prices of chicken has touched a new high in Maharashtra. Poultry farmers and breeders said this was a result of lesser body weight in birds which has taken a hit in the supply. At present, the farm gate price – the price at which poultry firms procures market-ready birds from farmers – is around Rs 110-112/kg which in March was around Rs 75-80/kg. The retail price of chicken in Pune is around Rs 220-240/kg which until 15 days ago was around Rs 180-200/kg.
Market-ready birds refer to 45-day old fully grown birds which weigh between 2 and 2.5 kg.
While poultry farms have ruled out any immediate price rise, traders have said they expect some price rise later this month.
Sanjay Nalgirkar, president of the Maharashtra chapter of the Poultry Breeders and Farmers Welfare Association (PBFWA) said that at present the price rise is a result of a dip in supply.
“Due to the lower-than-expected body weight of the birds, we have seen a mismatch between demand and supply,” he said.
At present, Maharashtra reports sales of around 4.5 crore market-ready birds on a monthly basis. A city like Pune consumes 90,000 to 1 lakh birds per month. India, on the other hand, consumes around 1.3 crore fowl on a daily basis.
The poultry industry in the country works on what is called contract farming. Poultry firms place orders for one-day-old chicks weighing between 30g and 40g with farmers along with feed and medicine. After 40 to 45 days when the birds assume a weight of over 2 kg, the poultry firms sell the same to the wholesale traders who collect the hens from the farmers. Farmers are paid the growing charges for each bird they deliver. The cost of production of birds is around Rs 85 for one kilogram, thus the poultry firms are running in profit.
“However, we have seen sustained loss in the last few months – the last two months have been a bit better,” he said.
At present, due to the summer temperatures, birds are taking a longer time to gain body weight. During summer, poultry price rises even as consumption goes down. This is simply because of the lower production which is unable to meet up the existing demand. Nalgirkar mentioned that prices have started rising since May due to the heat.
“While the monsoon is delayed we do not expect any more rise in prices,” he said. This, he said, was because of the start of the Ashadi Wari and the month of Shravan where people generally refrain from consuming non-vegetarian food.
